The truth hurts
by Skovko
Summary: Six months ago Raina packed her things and left without a word to anybody and disappeared from the face of the earth. Now she's suddenly back in the company and Roman wants to know why she left him back then without a warning or a word of any kind and where she has been hiding all this time.
1. Six months

"Holy shit!" Roman barely got the words over his lips as he reached his arm across Dean's chest to stop him from walking.

Dean looked down the hallway and immetiately saw what had made his friend stop.

"When did she get back?" Dean asked.  
"I have no idea," Roman answered.  
"You haven't spoken to her at all since she...?" Dean asked, leaving the unfinished question hanging in the air.  
"Not a word since she left six months ago. I haven't even been able to track her down. It was like she just disappeared from the face of the earth," Roman answered.  
"And here she is again," Dean said.

They watched Stephanie come walking towards her, shook her hand and the two women walked away together.

"I need to talk to her," Roman said.  
"Of course. We'll find her later. She owes you one hell of an explanation," Dean said.

"What's up with you two?" Seth asked as they met him in the gorilla where he was standing ready for the match.  
"Raina's back," Dean answered.  
"Shit! For real?" Seth asked.  
Roman nodded.  
"Crap! You've talked to her yet?" Seth asked.  
"Not yet but I will. I don't care if I have to force her into a room and lock the door. She will talk to me," Roman said.

Seth's eyes wandered between his two friends.

"You sure you're up for our match?" Seth asked.  
"Too late to back out now. Besides, I'm only there for moral support as Dean kicks your ass," Roman answered.

Raina felt uneasy being back. Six months ago she had run away without a word to anybody and she had hurt people in the process. She had hurt him, Roman, the man who loved her, the man who was always there for her. She hadn't said a word of even left a note. She had just packed her belongings and run off while he was at the arena, having a match, not knowing she was leaving him behind. It wasn't her proudest moment and not a day went by where she didn't blame herself for what she had done.

And now she was back again with the company. After six months where she had hid from everyone, she had finally gotten far enough to reach out to the company again, asking if there was any way she could get back. They didn't know where she had been either. As far as they knew, she had been in rehap for a non-existing drinking problem she had made up when she called them that evening to get out of her contract. They had believed her, released her and told her to get in contact with them if she needed anything.

She left Stephanie's office after signing the contract. It was supposed to be a happy moment but she felt a bunch of things, nervous most of all. Nervous about seeing certain people again. Six months ago her plan had been to never go back there and never get in touch with anybody within the company again but in a weak moment she had reached out to Stephanie and once she was on the phone with her former boss, she was done for it. Stephanie had a way of convincing people and now it was too late to back out.

She walked to the gorilla to greet the backstage workers there, most importantly Triple H who was always sitting there during the shows.

"Raina, welcome back," he said softly as he gave her a hug. "Is everything okay with you?"  
"Yes, everything's fine. Thanks for having me back," she answered.

She heard a familiar laughter and as she turned around, she realized, she could hear Dean's entrance music play. That could only mean he had just been in the ring and won but it wasn't his laughter she heard. She turned around to see both Dean and Roman come out. She froze. It was too soon and he was too close. He stopped laughing as he saw her. He looked at her, his eyes piercing through her soul, and she forgot to breathe for a few seconds.

Several people came charging into the gorilla at the same time as Seth joined his friends and the place was getting crowded. A lumberjack match was about to take place. She looked around at every wrestler there and her eyes caught the one person she never wanted to see again. She felt a panic attack drawing near. A hand landed on her arm and she turned her head to see Roman with a hold on her. He didn't look all too pleased and she knew he wanted answers. Answers she wasn't ready to give him.

"I need to get out of here," she whispered, not caring if anyone actually heard her.  
"Raina, we need to talk," Roman said firmly.  
"Not here," she snapped.  
"Tell me when and where and I'll be there," he said.  
"I can't," she said as she yanked her arm free of his grip.

She turned around and ran out of the gorilla. She couldn't stand being in there with all of them, with him. She needed air. She ran down the hallway but she never made it outside before she collapsed against the wall and fell to her knees, trying to keep her breathing under control.

"Shit, Raina, it's alright. I'm here," a voice said.

She felt a pair of arms around her and she knew who it was. The one person she put her trust in these days, the one person who had known all along where she had been the past six months. When she knew she had to disappear, she had turned to a person she knew Roman would never suspect her going to. Randy Orton.

At first he had liked the idea simply because he thought it would be fun to be able to stick it to Roman down the line that his girlfriend had been hiding in his house but soon after he had realized that he would never be able to use that secret against her. There was much more hidden under the surface and he had quickly felt the urge to protect her and keep her safe. It wasn't love, not at all. It was a friendship that had grown over the past six months. He knew the truth. He knew what had happened.

"Raina!" Roman called.

He ran towards them, anger starting to rush through his body as he saw Randy with his arms around her.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Roman growled as he grabbed Randy's arm to drag him away.

Randy quickly snapped back, jumped to his feet and pushed Roman up against the wall. The two men stared each other down.

"Don't go there, boy. You don't have the slightest clue to what's going on," Randy spoke in a low tone.

Roman didn't answer. He pushed Randy away but didn't move. His eyes went back to Raina and he saw how Randy went back to her and helped her up.

"Let's go," Randy said and started leading her down the hallway to get her outside.

Roman couldn't believe what he was seeing. Was she with Randy? Was that why she had left him? Because she had found someone else and run off with him? It would be a typical Randy move but it didn't seem like something she would ever have done and yet there they were, walking away from him together.


	2. You need to talk

_"Come on, don't be like that."_

"Raina, wake up," Randy's voice reached her as he shook her awake.

She opened her eyes and looked at him with that scared look he had seen way too many times.

"It was just a nightmare," he said and hugged her.

It had been a while since she last had that nightmare but now that she was back with the company and had seen Roman again yesterday, it had suddenly come back to her.

"Same as the last time?" He asked, still hugging her.  
"Yeah," she answered.

He leaned back out and looked at her.

"You wanna come down for breakfast?" He asked.  
"Not really," she said.

It wasn't that she wasn't hungry. She could feel her stomach hurt. She just knew who else would be down there and she wasn't ready for that.

"Go take a shower. I'll fix a plate for you and bring it up here," he said.  
"Thanks Randy," she said.

Roman looked up as someone sat down in front of him. He met Randy's hard eyes and frowned by the sight of the man he had wanted to beat up all through the night.

"What do you want?" Roman asked, his voice filled with disgust.  
"I wanna talk to you, dumbass. Why else would I sit down?" Randy answered.  
"Isn't it enough that you took her from me and kept her hidden for all this time? You just have to rub it in my face, huh?" Roman asked.

Randy leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms, his eyes never leaving Roman's.

"I didn't take her from anybody. She came to me," he said.  
"Why do you even want her? You can have almost every woman out there but you had to go and steal mine," Roman said, tears starting to press in his eyes.

He blinked fast to keep them from falling. Randy's eyes softened and he leaned forward again.

"There's nothing between me and Raina. We're friends. I know you don't trust me but you can trust her," he said.  
"That's easy for you to say. You're not the one who's been going out of your mind for six fucking months," Roman said, having a hard time controlling his voice.  
"She called me that night, practically begging for me to help her. I had no idea it would go on for that long. I promised her not to tell anyone where she was," Randy said.  
"But why? Why did she call you? And why did you do it? You and her were nothing. You barely said hello when you passed each other," Roman asked confused.  
"She called me because she knew the thought of her being with me would never cross your mind. And I said yes because I thought it would be a fun little secret to use against you on a later time. I'm not gonna lie about that. We both know I love doing stuff like that. However, knowing what I know now after being with her for this long, I've changed my mind about that," Randy answered.  
"And what do you know?" Roman asked.

Randy sighed and his entire body seemed to get tired all of the sudden.

"I can't tell you that," he said.  
"Of course you can't," Roman said and rolled his eyes.  
"Hey, don't give me that. You need to talk to her and hear what she has to say. It's not my place to tell you these things. I'm already crossing the line with this conversation," Randy said.  
"But she won't talk to me!" Roman raised his voice.  
"Then make her!" Randy raised his voice too.

The two men stared each other down for a couple of seconds.

"Look man, you need to talk to her. She's heartbroken. Always talking about how bad she feels about what she did to you and that she wishes she could go back and do it differently. I know you can get through to her somehow but it's up to you to figure out how," Randy said.

He stood up.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I promised to bring her some breakfast," he said.

He walked over to the table with food lined up.

"Hey! She likes apples in the morning," Roman called out to him.

Randy turned his head and gave him a little smile.

"I know. I bought more apples the last six months than I've done my entire life," he said.

Roman played with the napkin on his plate for a few seconds before looking up at Randy again.

"Thanks," he said.

Randy just nodded. No more words were needed to be said between them.

She was all dressed once Randy returned to their hotel room. He handed her the plate of food before nervously pacing the room. She watched him, just waiting for him to start talking since clearly something was on his mind.

"I talked to Roman," he finally said.

She put the plate on the nightstand without saying anything, just waiting for him to continue.

"I told him certain things," he confessed.  
"Like what?" The words came out of her mouth in a cold tone.  
"I didn't tell him that. Don't worry. I would never break your trust like that. But I kinda hinted there was something he needed to know," he said and scratched the back of his head.  
"Hinted? Or told him directly?" She asked.

She knew him too well.

"Alright, I told him directly," he admitted.  
"You have no right getting in my business like that!" She raised her voice and got to her feet.

He basically ran across the room to put his arms around her.

"You need to talk to him. He needs to know," he said.  
"He doesn't need to know shit!" She spat.  
"You're gonna continue running into him now that you're back. You can't avoid him forever," he said.  
"Of course I can," she said, knowing it was a lie.

She pushed her way out of his arms and walked over to pack her suitcase.

"What are you doing?" He asked.  
"Leaving," she answered.  
"But why?" He asked.  
"You agreed on keeping your mouth shut when I decided to go back on the road. You promised!" She was yelling at this point, feeling angry. "I trusted you! You're no better than..."  
"Don't you fucking dare compare me to that slimeball!" Randy shouted.

She immetiately shut up. She knew she had crossed the line and he didn't deserve it one bit after everything he had done for her over the past six months.

"I'm sorry," she said.  
"It's alright. Your nerves are outside your clothes now that you're back. I understand," he said.  
"I'm still leaving though," she said and closed her suitcase.  
"I know. I kind of figured it would happen soon, just not this soon," he said.

He walked over to her and hugged her.

"But not like this, okay? Call and make a reservation at the next hotel and we'll still drive there together. We'll be travel buddies like we agreed on before you came back but you'll sleep wherever you want. I'm not throwing this friendship out of the window because of a little fight. I love you, cupcake, you know that. I need you to annoy me on a daily basis and keep track of me so I don't mess up," he said.  
"You mess up no matter what," she said with a chuckle.  
"Imagine how much worse I would be without you," he said and kissed her cheek.  
"Fine, you win. I'll call the hotel. And thanks for putting up with me and my shitty mood changes. I love you too, you know. I couldn't have asked for a better friend," she said.

He walked over to his own suitcase to pack his things.

"You still need to talk to him though," he said.

She tensed up for a second before dropping her shoulders again.

"I know," she said.


	3. Back in the ring

She walked towards Nikki and John who were already waiting in the gorilla.

"So good to have you back, Raina," Nikki said and hugged her.  
"It's good to be back. I'm glad they're letting me work with you," Raina said.  
"Don't go easy on me," Nikki said and winked.  
"I wasn't planning on it," Raina said.

Randy joined them and took Raina's hand.

"You ready for this?" He asked.  
"Yeah, as long as I got you by my side, I think I can do this without getting too nervous. Thanks for doing this for me," she said.  
"Of course," he said.

 _"You can look but you can't touch..."_

Nikki left them and walked into the arena. They watched her on the monitor as she did her little dance and walked down to the ring. Someone handed her a microphone and the music died down.

"I think it's about time I get a title shot," Nikki started out.

The crowd cheered her on, agreeing with her. She was hot as a face and had won over most fans. She took it in for a few seconds before continuing.

"Good luck, Raina," a voice sounded.

She turned her head and saw Roman standing there. Her heart started beating faster. Why was he here now? She wasn't ready for this. He didn't move over to her or say anything else. He just looked at her with those eyes she used to get lost in.

"Thanks," she mumbled before turning her attention back to the monitor.

"I've beaten everyone there is to beat in this company. Everyone, except for one. Our current women's champion Sasha Banks. Sasha, you owe me this. I've fought my way through everyone to get to you. There is no one left between us for me to beat," she said.

Nikki was cut off when "I rule the ruins" by Doro started. It took a couple of seconds and then the crowd roared as they realized it could only mean one thing: the return of Raina. Shortly after she walked in with a grin on her face and a microphone in her hand. The music died down as she walked down the ramp towards the ring. She climbed into it and stopped close to Nikki.

"You haven't beaten me," she said.

With those words she hit Nikki with a headbutt, making her stumble backwards in pain. She dropped the microphone, spun around and kicked backwards, kicking Nikki in the stomach. Nikki bent over and Raina was quick to get her up on her shoulders. Raina rotated Nikki in the air as she was sent towards the turnbuckle, her head smashing down on it.

Nikki fell to the ground and Raina put her boot down on her neck.

"You can't beat me, Nikki!" She shouted.

She looked up and quickly removed her foot as John Cena's music started and he came running down.

She grabbed the microphone again and stood ready as he slid under the ropes and they stood face to face. He bent down and helped Nikki to her feet, never taking his eyes off Raina. When Nikki was back up and looked to be okay, he finally started talking.

"You think you can just come back to this company and run over whoever you like?" He asked.  
"I don't think. I just did," she answered.  
"You ain't so tough now with me in the ring, huh? How about it? You think you got anyone out there willing to team up with you?" He challenged.  
"Well, unlike your little girlfriend there, I don't need a man to fight my battles, but since you clearly want your ass kicked, who am I to deny you that wish?" She asked.

She grinned as she looked up the ramp, waiting for his music to start.

 _"I hear voices in my head..."_

The crowd was pumped up and going crazy as Randy came walking out. He walked calmly to the ring and shortly after his hand landed on her shoulder while he eyed down John and Nikki. It was on.

"You alright?" Dean asked as he saw the sad look on Roman's face.  
"It should be me out there by her side," Roman answered.  
He shook his head.  
"I'm gonna go watch it somewhere else. Too crowded in here," he said and took off.

Dean quickly followed him without a word. He knew his friend too well. He might not wanna break down in front of everyone in the gorilla but he still needed his best friend by his side. They found an empty room where they could watch the match alone on another monitor.

It felt good to be back in the ring. Even better with her friend by her side, helping her through it all. Six months wasn't too long a time but it felt like years to her. She was scared she was gonna come across as rusty but once she was in there, everything just came as easy to her as it used to. She had been lucky that Randy had kept training with her everytime he had been home so she hadn't been completely out of the game while she was away.

Nikki tagged in John and Raina raged as she was forced to go out and let Randy in. They were about to end the match. She jumped down from the apron and ran around the ring to grab Nikki's legs and pull her down. Nikki smashed her head on the apron and Raina threw herself at her. It looked like she had the upper hand but Nikki managed to fight her way out of it. She grabbed Raina by the hair and sent her flying over the announcement table. She smashed into the empty chairs that the commentators had been sitting in just seconds ago. Now they were standing to the side, watching her lying over the chairs in pain.

"1... 2... 3..." The referee counted.

The bell rang and John's music started. Nikki was fast by his side as they raised their hands together. Then they jumped out of the ring and walked up the ramp.

Randy finally pulled himself up and rolled out of the ring. He stumbled towards Raina to pull her up from the chairs and the painful position she was lying in. He put an arm around her as he helped her up the ramp. She had lost her first match but she was back and everyone knew it.

Her eyes searched for Roman the second she walked back out in the gorilla. He wasn't there. She felt split in two. Back when they were together, they would always wait for each other whenever the other one had a match. A part of her was happy since she still didn't wanna deal with him but another part of her was sad because she had wanted to see that happy and proud look on his face that had always been the first thing to greet her after a match.

"You did great, Raina," Triple H said and hugged her.  
"Thanks," she said. "It's so good to be back."  
"We're glad to have you back," he said before returning to his chair again.

She heard others greet her as well and she just threw out a couple of "thank you" while walking out of the room and towards the locker room.


	4. Next feud

_"Come to my office as soon as you can."_

She left the locker room with her bag over her shoulder and her eyes on the text from Stephanie, not watching where she was going. She was stopped dead in her track as she walked straight into a big body.

"Sorry," she mumbled, not taking her eyes from the phone as she tried to walk around whoever she had just walked into.  
"Raina..." He said softly and grabbed her wrist.

She froze and looked up into Roman's eyes. He wasn't hurting her by his light touch but nonetheless he was still holding on to her.

"You looked really good out there," he said, trying to ease the tension they both clearly felt.  
"Thanks. Look, I gotta go," she said and pulled her wrist out of his hand.  
"We need to talk. You owe me that much," he said.  
"I know. Just not now. Stephanie wants to see me right away," she said, holding her phone in front of him so he could see the text.

He sighed and she quickly walked away from him, glad that she had a legitimate excuse this time to get away.

"Great work out there. One hell of a way to come back with Randy having your back. I gotta admit, I wasn't sure when you two first suggested it but you pulled it off perfectly," Stephanie said once Raina was sat down inside her office.

Raina smiled and nodded. It had been a good way to come back. The audience had sucked it right up.

"Now, we need you to get on Dean's bad side tomorrow by going after Renee," Stephanie continued.  
"Dean? Why?" Raina suddenly found it difficult to breathe.  
"Because with Dean and Seth finally closed, Dean and Randy will start feuding. You will sow that seed. You will go off on Renee, Dean will come to her aid, Randy will come to your aid. You'll back out of it after that and he and you will go in separate directions," Stephanie said.

Raina swallowed hard and tried concentrating on keeping her breathing under control.

"Are you okay with all this, Raina?" Stephanie asked.  
"It's just... Dean is best friends with..." Raina said lowly.  
"With Roman? Is he the reason why you left six months ago?" Stephanie asked.

Raina's eyes quickly snapped up from the floor and pierced into Stephanie's.

"You know why I left," she said through gritted teeth.  
"No, I don't. I know what you told me but a month in I called every god damn rehab center in America and no one had heard of you. I even put a detective on the case of finding you and he came up emptyhanded. You were not in rehab. Wanna tell me where you really were?" Stephanie asked.

Raina thought fast. Should she continue lying? What was the point? Stephanie probably already knew anyway.

"I was with Randy," she admitted.  
"I figured. Are you two a thing now?" Stephanie asked.  
"No. We are just friends," Raina answered.  
"So why did you leave and hide at his place?" Stephanie asked.

Raina hung her head low again. She didn't wanna answer that.

"Raina, I'm gonna ask you something and I hope you'll answer truthfully. I'm only gonna ask this one time and whatever your answer is, I will accept it and never ask again. Did Roman hurt you in any way behind closed doors?" Stephanie asked.

Raina's eyes flew back up and she had a look of misbelief written all over her face. She couldn't believe Stephanie could even consider that.

"No! Roman would never hurt me," she answered.  
"I didn't think so but I had to ask. Look, if you ever wanna come clean and tell me the truth, I'll be here. Till then I won't drill into it any further," Stephanie said.  
"Thanks," Raina said, her voice low again.

She walked out and found Randy and filled him in on the plans. They took off together to locate Renee and Dean who had already been filled in earlier that evening by Stephanie.

"Hey girl, I missed you," Renee said and hugged her.  
"I missed you too," Raina mumbled into Renee's hair.

She broke the hug and quickly returned to Randy's side. She didn't even dare to look up and meet Dean's eyes. She knew he would have a lot of things on his mind and she just wouldn't hear it right now.

Randy caught on right away and quickly started talking about what they would do the next day. Raina just nodded and agreed with everything they said. After all, her and Renee would only play a small part in the beginning of this feud. After tomorrow, she would be on her own two feet.

The second they were done talking, she hurried towards the door.

"Hey Raina, can we talk?" Dean called out.

She just pretended not to hear him and took off in a hurry. She ran down the hallway before he decided to come after her. She heard footsteps and was caught by Randy shortly before she reached the door to the outside. She was gasping, having a hard time to breathe.

"Breathe, Raina, just breathe," he said as he helped her outside.  
"Stupid panic attacks," she managed to growl between her short breaths.  
"He didn't mean to. He's just looking out for his friend," he said.  
"Why can't they just leave me alone? Why can't everybody just leave me alone?" She raised her voice.  
"You chose the wrong business to be in if you wanna be left alone," he said.  
"Stop being such a fucking smartass," she hissed.  
"That's what you love about me, cupcake," he said.  
"Keep saying shit like that and I'll tell everyone you call me cupcake when we're alone," she said.  
"You wouldn't dare! That would hurt my bad boy image!" Randy raised his voice, pretending to be mad.

She cracked a little smile at him.

"Idiot," she said.  
"Yeah, we both are," he said and took her hand. "Let's get back to the hotel."


	5. Strawberry margaritas

"Raina, last night you and Randy suffered a loss to Nikki Bella and John Cena. How are you feeling about that today?" Renee asked and held the microphone towards Raina.  
"How am I feeling, Renee? How the hell do you think I'm feeling?" Raina raised her voice.  
"I don't know," Renee tried in her innocent voice.  
"I'll tell you exactly how I'm feeling!" Raina yelled.

She grabbed Renee's shoulders and slammed her up against the wall.

"I am feeling like I wanna hurt the first best thing that stands in my way and guess who that might be!" Raina yelled.  
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Dean's voice was heard seconds before he came into the shot.

He grabbed Raina, yanked her away from Renee and shoved her up against the wall next to her.

"Dean, easy," Renee tried to play it cool.  
"You don't hurt my woman!" Dean sneered.

Before Raina could answer, the sound of Randy's scream was heard and he came into the shot, punching Dean in the face and they both stumbled down to the ground. Raina and Renee quickly jumped out of the shot while the men continued fighting on the floor for 20 seconds until referees came running in to tear them apart. They would meet later in the ring for a real match after this segment, a match that would be announced shortly after.

Randy looked over at Raina and she sent him a smile and a nod. Her way of telling him everything was fine. He smiled back and started walking away. He had a match to get ready for. Raina turned to walk the other way. She wasn't needed for anything else that evening.

She stopped as a hand touched her arm and turned her head to see Renee.

"Can we talk? I haven't seen you forever. I just wanna catch up with you and see if everything's fine. Is everything fine? Are things good between the two of us?" She asked.  
"Of course, Renee. Things are good," Raina answered.  
"So how about it? You and me go out together for a few drinks or coffee or whatever you like? I'll leave the brute at home," Renee said and nodded her head towards the direction of Dean.  
Raina let out a soft laugh.  
"Tomorrow?" She asked.

Before Renee could answer, the sound of Roman's music blasted through the place.

"He's facing Seth. They're building them up for Hell in a cell this Sunday," Renee said, as if she had read Raina's mind.  
"Screw it. Let's go get that drink now. You're up for it?" Raina asked.  
"Sure, I'm not scheduled for anything else tonight. Let me just go say goodbye to Dean first," Renee answered.

Renee quickly walked over to Dean.

"I'm going out with her for a drink," she said.  
"Alright, text me the name of the place once you figure out where you're going," he said.  
"Dean, don't come running there after the show. She actually agreed to see one of us and I don't want you to screw that up. I'll see if I can get anything out of her about what happened," she said.  
"I'm not planning on coming there. I just wanna know where you are in case something happens," he said.  
"Dean, I'm warning you," she said.

"I promise. I won't go there," he said and pulled her in for a kiss.

They found a cozy bar and went inside.

"Strawberry margaritas like in the old days?" Raina asked.  
"Yes, girl, I'm so on board," Renee answered.  
"Find us a table while I buy the drinks," Raina said.

Renee found a table and quickly texted the name of the bar to Dean. She put the phone on silent and put it away again. No way she would let anybody disturb them now she finally had a chance to talk to Raina.

A couple of hours went by. The talked about a lot of different things but Raina refused to open up about what had happened and Renee didn't feel like pressuring her too much. Instead they shared old memories while several drinks went down. They were in the middle of laughing and didn't notice him walk over to the table before he was there right in front of it. Raina noticed him first. She stopped laughing and just looked at him. The man she used to love, the man she still loved and probably always would love, the man she had hurt deeply. Renee looked up too and immetiately felt guilty.

"I'm gonna kill Dean," she growled as she got up.

Roman sat down where she had just been seated across from Raina and they both watched in silence as Renee walked out of the bar to call Dean.

"I gotta go," Raina said and tried to stand up.  
Roman grabbed both her hands and she remained seated.  
"Raina, please. Just talk to me," he pleaded.

She looked down at their joined hands. It sent a shiver down her spine to feel him touch her again.

"I never meant to hurt you," she finally said.  
"But you did," he said.

She looked up into his eyes. Like her he was trying to fight back the tears, neither of them wanting to look weak in front of the other.

"Tell me why you left," he said.

It was a soft demand, but a demand nevertheless.

"Something bad happened," she answered.  
"What?" He asked.

She bit her lip, finding it way too hard to get the words over her lip.

"Why didn't you come to me instead of running away? I would have listened and helped you no matter what it is. Nothing could have been that bad that you felt you had to keep me in the darkness for that long," he said.  
"What was I supposde to do? You were always with them. You were the greatest faction seen to date and you were held up high. It would have ruined everything for you and you didn't deserve that. You deserved your fame," she said.  
"Dean and Seth would have helped you too. You had a lot of friends ready to have your back no matter what," he said.  
"Not with this," she hissed.

"No, Dean, don't do it," Renee's voice sounded from the door.

They both turned their heads to see Renee, Dean and Seth standing there. Renee was trying to convince the two men to go back out.

"You brought them here!" Raina sneered and yanked her hands from Roman's.  
"They're your friends," he tried.  
"Fuck them and fuck you! This is why I never said anything. You're always around them. I can't win in this situation," she sneered, using all her force not to raise her voice.

As the trio started making their way towards their table, Raina had enough. She ran past them, eyes planted on the door behind them so she wouldn't have to look at any of them, and then she was gone.

"Great timing," Roman growled sarcastically at them.

Seth and Dean sat down while Renee decided to let them have a little guy time so she went to stand in the bar to have a drink. Roman looked at both of his friends before opening his mouth again.

"Alright, who did what?" He asked.

Both men looked back at him in wonder.

"Her reaction to you two walking in here makes me think that one of you know something I don't," he continued.  
"Not me," Dean said.  
"Shit," Seth said and scratched his head. "Yeah, there's something you should know. Please, don't hit me when I tell you, alright?"  
"Spit it out," Roman growled, starting to feel angry.  
"The night before she left there was that party. You remember, right?" Seth started.  
Roman nodded.  
"She went back early and when I left a little while later, I wanted to check up on her to see if she was alright. I walked past your room anyway. Well, we were both kinda drunk and one thing led to another..." Seth stopped and looked at Roman with begging eyes.

Roman stared back at him, waiting for him to finish, but Seth really didn't wanna say it out loud.

"You fucked his girlfriend?" Dean asked.  
"Well... it just... happened," Seth said.

Seth was looking at Roman, waiting for him to scream at him or punch him. Instead Dean's fist landed on his face, taking him by complete surprise.

"You're a fucking asshole, Seth!" Dean spat.

Renee came running over to stop Dean. Seth turned his head to look at him just to feel Roman's fist land on the other side of his face a second later.

"Stop it! I'm sorry, alright! I never meant to hurt you!" Seth yelled.

Roman stood up without a word, walked out of the bar and into the car and drove back to the hotel.

"What's up, cupcake?" Randy asked as he answered his phone.  
"Finally! Where have you been? I've been calling you forever," Raina said.  
"I was in the shower. What's wrong?" He asked.  
"I went out with Renee and Roman cornered me in the bar. I almost told him and then they showed up," she said.  
"Who?" He asked.  
"Seth and Dean," she answered.  
"Shit. What happened?" He asked.  
"We shared a round of beers and sang happy songs. What do you think happened, Randy? I fucking panicked and ran away," she yelled into the phone.

There was a knock on her door.

"Please, tell me that's you at my door," she said.  
"No, I'm in my own room," he said.

 _"Come on, don't be like that."_

She walked over to her purse and grabbed the pepper spray.

"Don't answer it unless you know who it is," he said.

 _"You know you want this just as much as I do."_

"Randy..." She whispered as she quietly made her way towards the door.  
"Don't fucking answer it if you don't know who it is," he was yelling now.  
"Open up, Raina. I know you're in there," Roman called from the other side.  
"Shit, it's Roman. What do I do?" She whispered.  
"Open up and let him in," Randy answered.

She unlocked the door and opened it. He barged right in, making her take several steps backwards.

"You fucked him?" The words flew out of his mouth.  
"Randy and I are just friends," she said.  
"Not Randy. Seth!" Roman yelled.

He had never seen that look on her face before. Like a tortured animal that knew it was about to die and decided to give one last lethal kick of anger before being consumed by darkness. Her hand holding the phone slowly lowered and she put the phone on the table next to her.

"Get out!" Her voice sounded like never before.

He got scared. There she was, way smaller than him and he should be the one angry and getting his way, but she scared him right in that moment. He froze on the spot.

"Get the fuck out or I'll fucking use this on you!" She screamed and held up the pepper spray.

She launched at him, pushing and punching him at the chest, constantly screaming for him to get out. The wounded animal was gone. Now it was just a broken woman with tears running down her cheeks. He walked backwards, wondering if he should apologize or continue to be angry. Something felt wrong. Five seconds later he found himself back out in the hallway. She had stopped screaming and instead she was gasping for air. She tried leaning up against the door frame but she slowly slid down on the floor.

"Shit, Raina," Roman said.

He was fast by her side, putting his arms around her, trying to help her somehow.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, the fear showing in his voice.

The sound of the elevator stopping on the floor was heard and the doors opened.

"Shit!" Randy yelled.

He ran towards them, shoved Roman away and put his own arms around her.

"Breathe Raina, come on, just breathe," he said.  
"What's wrong with her?" Roman asked, his voice trembling.  
"Go away, Roman. You're not helping her right now," Randy said.  
"Not until you tell me what's wrong!" Roman shouted.  
"You are what's wrong!" Randy shouted back.

He turned his focus back at Raina who was slowly getting her breathing under control. Randy helped her up and walked her over to the bed where she sat down. He walked back towards the open door where Roman was still standing with a confused and scared look on his face.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Randy growled in a low voice.  
"I... I..." Roman started, searching for his own voice before looking at Randy with begging eyes. "Please, tell me what's wrong."  
"It's just a panic attack. She gets them from time to time," Randy answered.  
"Since when?" Roman asked.  
"Since that night," Randy answered.  
"What night?" Roman asked.  
"From what I heard over the phone, you already know what night," Randy answered.

And with those words he closed the door, leaving Roman out in the hallway. He walked back to Raina, sat down next to her and put an arm around her. She was finally breathing normal again.

"It's alright, cupcake," he said.  
"He thinks..." She said, tears starting to press in her eyes again.  
"There's a difference between thinking and knowing. Tell him," he said.  
"It doesn't matter now. Maybe it's for the better. He'll stop demanding answers and he can move on and be happy," she said.  
"And what about you? Don't you deserve to be happy?" He asked.

Minutes later Roman found himself sitting across from Dean at the hotel bar. He had called Dean and asked him to come alone. No Renee and no Seth. He just needed his best friend, someone who knew them all but who would never back down from giving an honest answer.

"I don't know," Dean said, his mind clearly working overtime.

Roman put his beer down and looked at his friend.

"I have a hard time believing this. Anyone else and I would since Seth can make basically any woman spread her legs, but this is Raina we're talking about. She worshipped the ground you walked on," Dean said.  
"I know," Roman said.  
"But at the same time, it is Seth. He's our friend and we both know what kind of a player he is. He can make women drop their pants just by looking at them. And we both remember he tried getting with her first before you got your claws in her. Why would he lie about something like this?" Dean said.  
"I don't know," Roman said before emptying the rest of his beer.  
"Maybe you need to get them in the same room. Demand answers or some shit like that," Dean said.  
"I don't think she'll ever agree to that," Roman said.

Dean emptied his beer as well, watching his friend for a few seconds before leaning over the table a bit.

"Do you still love her?" He asked.  
"I was never able to let that love go since I had no idea where she was. I was beginning to think she was dead," Roman answered and hung his head.  
"Then what difference does it make if she fucked Seth or not? If you can forgive her and move past that, maybe there's still a chance for you. Can you? Can you forgive her?" Dean asked.  
"I don't know. Maybe. Right now I need to hear the truth from her mouth first," Roman answered.  
"Of course. Shit, love is tough, huh?" Dean said and leaned back in his chair.  
"And friends aren't always as good to you as you think," Roman added.  
"Yeah, Seth's a piece of shit," Dean said.


	6. The truth is revealed

_She opened the door and saw Seth standing there. She was still drunk and he stood there with that huge grin on his face that she had often seen in the ring when The Shield waited for their next victims to be stupid enough to enter the ring._

 _"Hey Raina, I just wanted to check in with you. You left so early," he said._  
 _"Yeah, got drunk too fast," she answered._  
 _"Can I come in?" He asked._

 _She left the door open and turned around to walk back towards the bed. He quickly stepped in, closed the door and locked it behind him. She gasped in shock as she felt his arms wrap around her from behind and his lips on her neck._

 _"Seth, what are you doing?" She asked as she tried to push her way out of his arms._  
 _"Come on, don't be like that," he said and tightened his grip._

 _Fear started to flush through her and she tried getting free again._

 _"You know you want this just as much as I do," he said._

 _His lips went back on her neck. They parted and he licked her up to her ear. She felt cold and scared._

 _"Let go!" She screamed._

 _She started twisting her body like crazy in an attempt to get out. Her brain kept screaming at her that she should know how to get out of this situation. She was a fighter after all. Only problem was that so was he and he was way stronger than her. She refused to go down without a fight though. She screamed, clawed, kicked and punched the best she could but he refused to let go. A sharp pain went through her head and she saw stars as he hurled her body against the wall._

 _She felt him grab her hair and drag her towards the bed._

 _"See, much better when you just let it happen," he said._

 _She tried to speak but no words would come out. Everything was in a blur after the collision with the wall. She felt his hands under her arms as he yanked her up from the floor and threw her on the bed._

 _Hands went up her thighs, dragging the dress up that she had never gotten out of when she returned to the hotel room. They grabbed her panties and dragged them down her legs. A second later they landed on her thighs again, pushing her legs apart._

 _"Seth, please," she found her voice again._  
 _"Aw, how cute. I like it when you beg. Don't worry, you'll get it good," he said._

 _A sharp pain went through her as he forcefully pushed himself inside her. She shut down mentally and went numb. She should fight. Instead she just laid there while he had his way with her. There was no more fight left in her. She just wanted it to be over quickly. If she just laid still and concentrated on breathing, maybe it would be over soon._

She woke up drenched it sweat and with tears streaming down her face. She had had the nightmare again. Normally Randy would wake her up before it got to the really bad part but she had chosen to get her own room. She was the only one to blame that she had to live through it once again and she knew it was far from the last time.

She looked at her phone. Only 4.45 am. She refused to go back to sleep. She was wide awake and the room suddenly seemed way too small. She needed to get out. She needed air. She quickly put on a pair of jeans and dragged a hoodie over her head. She grabbed the key card and put it in the back pocket and then she took off.

She ran down the stairs. She couldn't go into the elevator. Too small space and she would be forced to stand still while it went down. She had to keep moving at this point. She took long steps through the lobby and soon she breathed in the fresh air. She kept walking. She didn't know where to. She just needed to move forward to clear her mind.

"Raina?" A familiar voice suddenly sounded.

She turned around to see Renee with two cups of coffee.

"We got an early photo shoot so I went out to get us coffee. What on earth are you doing out here this early?" She continued.

Raina kept looking at her, not saying anything. She could lie. She should lie. Instead she felt her cheeks get wet.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" Renee asked and hurried over to her.  
"I can't take it anymore, Renee. It keeps haunting my mind. It's killing me. I don't wanna do this anymore," Raina sobbed.  
"Calm down, girl. You're not making any sense. Come here," Renee said and dragged her towards a park across the street.

They found a bench and sat down. Renee handed her one of the coffees, knowing Dean would understand once she returned and explained everything. Right now Raina needed someone and she was not about to leave a friend stranded in the middle of a street like that.

"Talk to me," Renee said.  
"It keeps showing up in my brain. I have nightmares about it," Raina said.  
"About what?" Renee asked.  
"About what happened that night before I took off," Raina answered.  
"Is this about Seth?" Renee asked.

Raina's eyes looked like they were about to shoot fireballs by the sound of his name. Renee gently put her hand over Raina's and patted it.

"He said last night that you were together that night. Is that true?" Renee continued.  
"Oh god, Renee," Raina cried and put her head on Renee's shoulder. "He raped me."

Dean was starting to get nervous when an entire hour went by before Renee finally came back.

"Where were you? I thought you were going out for coffee," he said as he looked at her empty hands.  
"I ran into Raina," she answered.  
"And?" Dean asked.

She paced the room a little while her mind was going through everything she had just been told, trying to make sense of it all, knowing that she couldn't.

"Babe?" He asked, bringing her mind back to him.

She looked at him and sighed.

"Do you remember three months ago when Seth tried to open my pants? You came up and got him away from me and he just seemed like he was drunk out of his mind and we never took it up with him because we didn't want him to feel bad about it?" She asked.  
"Yeah?" He said nervously.  
"I don't think he was drunk or that it was an accident. I think he would have done something unforgiveable if you had not come up when you did," she said.

His face went hard.

"What are you saying?" He asked, knowing too well what she was saying but he had a hard time believing it.  
"According to Raina he raped her that night where he claims they hooked up," she said.

He took a couple of steps backwards and held his hands up in the air. A little nervous smile appeared on his face. A stupid habit of his when there really was nothing to smile about but he couldn't help it.

"Hold up, hold up. So you're saying..." He started, not able to finish the sentence.  
"He's always been some what jealous on both you and Roman for being in relationships," she said.  
"But... rape?" He asked.  
"Think about it. It makes sense. He wanted her from the start but she chose Roman. That morning after the party she was nothing like herself and we all just thought it was hangovers. None of us actually asked her if anything was wrong. And then she disappeared that same night," she said.

He thought about it for a couple of seconds, turning everything around in his head.

"It makes sense with what she said to Roman last night. She said she couldn't tell him because we were The Shield and on top back then and he deserved his fame," he said.  
"She would have broken you guys up," she said.  
"That wouldn't have mattered. If Seth did that to her, he doesn't deserve anything he's been given in this company," he said.

She looked at him. She couldn't understand he could be so calm. Normally things like this made him blow up. She decided to let it be for now.

"We need to go or we'll be late for the photo shoot," she said.

He nodded. They walked towards the door.

"That motherfucker!" He suddenly shouted and punched his fist into the door.

There it was, the anger she had waited for. He grabbed her tightly and held her close.

"And to think he almost did it to you too," he said in a trembling voice.

She squeezed her arms around his body as tight as she could.

"But he didn't. You saved me. But Dean, Roman needs to know," she said.  
"I know. I'll tell him," he said.  
"He really should hear it from her," she said.  
"She's never gonna tell him and he needs to know soon. He walks around thinking her and Seth hooked up. I'll tell him later today when we get back," he said.


	7. I'm still here

Dean sat in the hotel bar waiting for Roman to show up. He had walked straight to the bar the second they came back from the photo shoot and called Roman right away and asked him to meet him down there. He had to tell him, no matter how hard it was or how much the truth would hurt his friend, he just had to tell him. Roman deserved to know. Raina deserved that he knew. They were both losers in this.

"Whiskey? What's so bad that we need whiskey this early?" Roman asked as he stood in front of the table.  
"Please, sit down," Dean said while clearing his throat, clearly uncomfortable about the whole situation.

Roman's smile faded and he sat down. He knew Dean too well and he knew something was wrong when he had that look on his face and found it hard to find any words to say. It was Dean of all people. The man that never seemed to run out of words and could cut a promo on the spot without any keywords and here he was struggling to find the words to say. Something was very wrong.

"Dean, you're kind of freaking me out," Roman said.  
"You're not gonna like it," Dean finally said.  
"Just tell me," Roman said.  
"You gotta promise me that you won't run off and do anything stupid. I know you're gonna be upset, hurt and angry and you are gonna want to kill someone. Hell, I can't blame you. I know I would react that way. But you gotta promise. It's not worth losing your job over," Dean said.  
"Okay, now you're scaring me. What is it?" Roman said.  
"Just promise!" Dean hissed through his teeth.  
"Alright, I promise. What is it?" Roman asked, trying to hide the fear in his voice but he wasn't successful.  
"Shit, Roman, it's bad. It's really bad," Dean said.

After Raina had spilled the truth to Renee that morning, Renee had managed to calm her down and get her back to her hotel room. She hadn't gone back to sleep. She had just been on the bed, watching tv - or pretending to watch it. She had no idea what had actually been shown on the screen the past couple of hours. It wasn't until her stomach started rumbling that she realized she probably needed to get some food. All she had had since she woke up was the cup of coffee Renee had handed to her. Dean's coffee. She felt kind of bad about that even though it was just coffee.

She grabbed her wallet and the key card and put both items in her back pockets before leaving the room. She walked towards the elevator and waited for it to arrive. It didn't scare her any longer. She didn't feel the need to keep walking anymore. The nightmare was long gone. Now only the sad memory remained. The stain that she would never be able to get rid off.

The second the elevator door opened on the main floor, she heard high voices arguing. She knew who it was right away even though she hadn't stepped out of the elevator yet to see them. Roman and Dean.

"Let me go!" Roman shouted.  
"No! You promised! You can't go after him now! You'll lose your job!" Dean shouted back.  
"I don't care! He deserves to die!" Roman shouted.

She stepped out of the elevator and looked confused at the two men standing there. Dean had Roman's arms locked behind his back as he tried to hold the big man back and Roman had a furious look on his face. They both stopped as they saw her. Roman's facial expression changed from furious to sad. Dean immetiately let go off his arms and before she knew it, Roman was right in front of her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back into the elevator. He pushed her up against the wall next to the buttons. Before she could react, the door closed again and he hit the button for his floor.

He kept standing there, holding her up against the wall. Not like he was forcing her to stay there. More like he was trying to shield her from everything else around them.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," he kept chanting down in her hair.

And then it clicked. He knew. Of course he knew. She had told Renee this morning. Of course she had told Dean. It was only natural to share everything in a close relationship. And of course Dean had told his best friend. He knew. He fucking knew and it hurt. She had never wanted him to find out. She had never wanted to get in between him and any of his friends.

She stood there and felt herself start to shiver. She tried holding the tears within but she couldn't. She grabbed his shirt, wrinkled it in her hands as she held on tight to it and cried into his chest.

She heard the door to the elevator open but she didn't move away from him. She felt him lift her up. She kept her head down on his shoulder, still crying, her arms now wrapped around his neck as he carried her to his room. He didn't say anything. He just held her up and allowed her to cry. She heard a door open and close and she knew she was in his room. He walked towards the bed and sat down with her now straddling his lap. She still had her head down on his shoulder, hidden in his hair, and her arms tightly wrapped around his neck. Now that she had finally a hold on him again after this long, she refused to let go.

"It's alright. I'm here, queen," he said softly.

The hair on her arms stood up when she heard his old nickname for her again. A simple word, yet a word she had longed to hear again for so long.

"I'm still here," he reassured her.

There was a soft knock on Roman's door a couple of hours later. He went to open and put his finger on his lips as Dean entered. He nodded towards the bed where Raina was sleeping. Dean nodded and put on a little smile. They put their heads together so they could whisper.

"How is she?" Dean asked.  
"I'm not sure. She cried a lot but she told me everything although she couldn't look at me while doing it. She just sat in my lap and hid her head on my shoulder while getting it all out," Roman answered.  
"And how are you?" Dean asked.  
"Sad, angry, upset, frustrated. Take your pick," Roman answered.

Dean nodded again and looked back at Raina. He felt a pain inside. Raina was his friend too. Seth hadn't just hurt her. With what he had done, he had made a lot of people suffer. Raina, Roman, Renee and himself. There would be payback for this.

"Look, I got an idea. Renee doesn't like it but she said she would support me if we do it," Dean said.

Roman looked at him, just waiting for him to continue.

"I know you're not gonna turn your back and pretend like nothing happened. I wouldn't either. And you should know that I've come very close to stand where you're standing. He... ehm... he almost did the same to Renee three months ago," Dean said.  
"What?" Roman asked.  
"I'll explain later. What matters now is you and what I know you're planning to do. Don't do it. I got a better idea. You wanna put your job on the line for her, fine, but you're not alone. We're gonna work together on this one. We're gonna sneak up on him and he'll never know what hit him," Dean said.

Roman looked back at Raina. She looked so peaceful sleeping there. Too many nights he had missed her in his bed. Now she was finally there again and he refused to ever let her out of his bed again. When she would wake up later, he would be there next to her to hold her tight and kiss her and tell her that she was never allowed to leave his sight again.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked.


	8. Hell in a cell

Raina and Randy stood in the gorilla. She was jumping on her feet, pumped up for the match she was about to be part of. She was just waiting for them to start up her music. She looked at the clock on the wall. Still a few more minutes to go.

It had been a couple of weird days. Good but still weird. She had woken up in Roman's bed and he had laid there in front of her, his brown eyes just watching her. He had put his arm over her and pulled her close. It was clear that he wanted to kiss her but he wasn't sure if he was allowed to or not so instead he had kissed her forehead and just held her close.

He had refused to let her leave his room. Instead they had walked to her room together, packed her things and moved her into his room. He had told her over and over how much he missed her and that she was never to leave him again. It had felt so good to be around him again and feel his arms around her constantly, and it really was constantly since he hardly left her side. She didn't mind though. She had missed him so much. And still that was all there had happened between them. The tension was thick and they both knew they wanted more. It was just like there was an invisible line that none of them dared to be the first one to cross.

"You got this," Randy said and put her out of her thoughts.

He squeezed her hand and leaned in to place a kiss on her temple.

"Kill it out there, cupcake," he whispered.

She smiled and nodded. Yeah, she got this. Her and Nikki might only be on the preshow but they would bring it and make sure everybody out there would wanna watch Hell in a cell after they had shown what they could do. Her music started and she gave Randy's hand one final squeeze before she walked out in the arena.

"Can we talk?" A voice sounded a few minutes later.

Randy moved his eyes from the monitor towards the voice to find Roman standing there.

"Sure," he answered.  
"I just wanna thank you for everything you've done for her. I know it can't have been easy for you either," Roman said.  
"It wasn't but truth be told, I would do it all over again if I had to. I never thought I would find such a good friend in her," Randy said, his eyes piercing into Roman.  
"Don't worry, I won't take her away from you. I wouldn't dream of it. She needs you in her life," Roman said.  
"Thanks," Randy said and smiled.

Roman took a couple of steps forward and stood next to Randy. They both turned their eyes to the monitor just as Raina took a suicide dive. Nikki moved in the last second and Raina smashed down on the floor, wrenching in pain.

"She's doing good out there," Randy said.  
"She sure is. That looked so painful. She's always been such a good seller," Roman said.

They watched as Nikki rolled Raina back into the ring and put her up on her shoulders for the rack attack. Three seconds later Nikki stood victorious.

Randy turned his head and looked at Roman.

"How are you handling everything? I mean, now that you know what happened. It can't be easy for you," he said.  
"It isn't but I'm gonna get my revenge," Roman said.  
"What are you planning?" Randy asked.  
"Guess you'll have to wait and see," Roman answered.

A smirk appeared on Randy's face.

"Are you taking a page out of my book? Creeping up on him without him knowing? I didn't think you had it in you," he said.

Raina came back out in the gorilla. The first thing she saw was Roman standing there. He had that happy and proud look in his eyes that she had missed so much. She smiled widely and walked over to him.

"You were wonderful out there," he said as he dragged her in for a hug.

For a second the world stood still around her. Everything felt right. Randy brought her back to reality.

"Go shower. You stink," he said.  
"Shut up or I'm gonna spill your secret," she teased and stuck out her tongue.  
"What secret?" Roman asked.  
"Oh, when we're alone, Randy calls me..." she started but was muffled by Randy's hand over her mouth.  
"And off to the shower you go, little one," he said and pushed her out of the gorilla.

She had showered and was in her normal clothes. Most of the PPV was over and she was back in the gorilla as Roman prepared for his match against Seth inside the cell. They were the main event. Seth came walking into the gorilla and his eyes roamed in their direction. Roman immetiately wrapped his arms around her in a possessive way and held her head against his chest. She could hear his heart beat through the vest as he was shielding her from Seth's eyes. God, she still loved this man so much and it was killing her to be this near him again without any real physical contact. She needed to feel so much more from him than just his arms around her, no matter how good that felt.

Seth's music started and he entered the arena. Roman released her and looked down at her. He moved his hand up to run it down the side of her face, pushing some of her hair behind her ear. She was so beautiful and innocent and Seth had taken that innocence away from her. For that he had to pay.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"You know I still love you, right?" He said lowly in her ear.

It was the first time those words had been said between them since she left six months earlier. Did she know? She sure did now. She nodded.

"That will never change. I'll always love you," he said, still close to her ear.  
"I love you too," she whispered.

Then his music started and he took off without any other word.

She walked over to Randy who was still standing there watching the monitor. She wondered if he had been standing there for all the hours that had went by. It wouldn't be unlike him to get such a crazy idea. Or maybe he knew something she didn't that kept him there. She could never be too sure with him around.

They stood side by side and watched the two men inside the cell go at it. They sure weren't holding back. The fury clearly shone through Roman's eyes and she couldn't blame him. She was more surprised that he managed to keep it professional knowing what had happened. She had actually been scared he might just go ahead and try to kill Seth.

Ten minutes into the match and she heard footsteps behind her. She turned her head and saw Dean. Nothing surprising in that. He was probably there to greet his best friend after the match so she turned her head back to screen. However, she couldn't focuse on the match. Something was off. Something about Dean wasn't as it was supposed to be. Something he held in his hand that she hadn't paid attention to.

She turned her head again just to see Dean walk towards the entrance to the arena. Her eyes went to his hand. A pair of bolt cutters.

"Dean!" She raised her voice at him.

He turned around with a smirk on his face and winked at her and then he took off running.

"No! Dean!" She shouted and tried to run after him.

Randy grabbed her quickly and held her back.

"Nothing you can do about it," he said.  
"I gotta stop it! This is madness!" She yelled.  
"Just let it happen," he said in a calming voice.

Dean pushed the first referee away that tried to stop him. He put the bolt cutters on the padlock and snapped it easily. He grabbed the chain and pulled it out. He ripped the door open and stepped inside the cell.

"What the hell?" Seth yelled from the ring but Roman was back on him in a second.

Dean quickly closed the door, put the chain back in and pulled out another padlock from his pocket. A padlock he alone had the key to.

"You got nowhere to run now, Seth!" He yelled as he turned around and looked at the two men inside the ring.

Dean was fast to slide under the ropes. Both he and Roman attacked Seth, beating him down.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Seth shouted through the pain.

Their punches were very much real and they threw them as hard as they could. Blood was starting to pour from Seth's nose and mouth but that didn't stop them from delivering more punches. They only got one shot at payback and they weren't gonna let it go to waste.

"Set up a table," Roman growled.

Dean quickly rolled out of the ring again and found a table under it. He set it up and looked up at Roman that now held Seth up over his head. He tossed Seth over the ropes. Seth bounched into the steel cage and crashed down through the table. A sharp pain went through his head seconds later as Dean kicked him as hard as he could in the skull.

Everything was starting to get blurry for Seth. Roman jumped out of the ring, grabbed Seth around the throat and dragged him up to his feet. He pushed him up against the steel and leaned in to talk so the cameras and the audience wouldn't catch his words.

"I know what you did to Raina, you piece of shit. You put your hands on my girl. You raped her and took her away from me. If I could, I would kill you, but I just have to settle with hurting you real bad," he growled.

Seth started shaking as he realized the secret was out.

"Please, Roman, don't believe her," he tried but he didn't sound convincing at all.  
"Wrong thing to say," Dean said mockingly next to him and planted his knee in Seth's ribs, knocking the air out of him.

Roman dragged Seth with him, lifted him up and smashed him down on his back on the steel steps. Dean was fast inside the ring, wrapping Seth's legs around the ring post, one leg on each side, and locked them up with his own arms and legs, making sure he couldn't get away as he laid there on the steps.

Roman slowly walked up to stand next to Seth's face. Fear was showing in Seth's eyes and Roman found him so pathetic in that moment. He raised his foot and started stomping down on Seth's shoulder again and again. Seth screamed in pain but couldn't get away. Roman felt a bone break inside Seth's shoulder but he just kept stomping until he was out of breath. He raised his foot one last time and planted it on Seth's throat. He put pressure on it and laughed at him as he struggled to breathe from the pressure. He kept pushing down until Seth finally passed out from lack of air.

Roman entered the ring. Dean dragged Seth's unconscious body inside as well. Roman placed his foot on Seth's chest and yelled at the referee to count.

"1... 2... 3..."

No surprise there. Seth was still gone in dreamland. Dean raised Roman's arm in victory before jumping out of the ring to unlock the padlock, allowing doctors to rush in the tend to Seth.

"That's what you get, Seth! That's what you get!" He yelled from the open door.

Roman jumped down and joined him. He put his arm around his shoulder.

"Thank you," he whispered.  
"Anytime," Dean whispered back.

They slowly walked up the ramp together.

The first thing he saw when he entered the gorilla again was her eyes. He was scared she might be mad about what he had done but she looked more concerned. Then she suddenly sprinted towards him and jumped up on him. He caught her and held on to her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and squeezed him tight.

He walked out in the hallway, away from all the prying eyes. He leaned her back up against the wall. She was still holding on tight to him with her arms and legs wrapped around him and he wasn't gonna put her down if she didn't want to but he was gonna look at her. He pushed her head away from his shoulder and leaned his forehead against hers.

"You're fucking crazy," she said with a little smile on her face.  
"He got what he deserved," he said.  
"I can't take it anymore," she said.  
"What?" He asked, feeling a bit uneasy.  
"Always being around you like this," she answered.

His eyes turned sad. This was it. She was leaving him. He was sure of it. Who was he to think they could just get back together after this long? Of course they couldn't. Time had changed them both. As if she read his mind, she put her hands on his cheeks and forced him to look into her eyes.

"I can't take being around you without getting what I used to get. Are you ever gonna kiss me?" She asked.

A stone dropped from his heart and his face turned into a huge smile. He closed the small gab between their faces and pressed his lips to hers. Gentle at first but soon he demanded more and kissed her passionately. It felt just as good as he remembered. She tasted just as he remembered. He was home.

"I hate to break up this sweet reunion but Stephanie and Hunter are demanding to see us right away," Dean said.

They broke the kiss and looked at him. Roman put her down on her feet again.

"Guess we'll lose our jobs now," he said.  
"No. I won't allow that to happen," she said.  
"I don't think you can do anything about that," Roman said.  
"I can. I'm gonna go with you and I'm gonna tell them the truth. They'll understand why you snapped in there. If anyone should get fired, it should be Seth," she said.  
"You'd do that for me?" Roman asked.  
"Of course. I love you. I finally got you back. I can't have you leave me so soon," she answered.

He took her hands and kissed them before pulling her in for a hug.

"I love you, queen," he whispered down in her hair.

Randy paced the hallway while they were inside the office talking to Stephanie and Hunter. It took a long time. Too long. But that was probably good. They hadn't fired them right away then. He was nervous. He felt guilty. He was the one who had convinced her to return to the company and he didn't wanna be the reason why she might lose Roman all over again.

"Finally," he mumbled as the door opened and they came back out.

He hurried over and stopped in front of them.

"Well?" He asked.  
"We're safe," Dean answered.  
"Oh, thank god," Randy said and hugged Raina.  
"They got fined for what they did and we all got suspended for three weeks but they still got their jobs at least. Seth is gone for good," she said.  
"Seth's gone? That's the best part. But why did you get suspended too?" Randy asked.  
"We couldn't convince them she wasn't part of the plan," Roman answered.  
"It's okay. We'll be back before you know it," she said.

"So... three weeks. What are we gonna do?" Roman asked once they were back in his hotel room.  
"I can think of a few things," she said and smirked.

He walked over to her and put his arms around her.

"Are you sure you're ready for that?" He asked.  
"It's been six months. I'll never get rid off the memory and the nightmares will probably pop up from time to time, but yes, I'm ready. I'm with you again and we've missed out on so much time. Just... be gentle to begin with," she said and bit her lip.

He leaned down and kissed her.

"I will but you gotta wait a little more. I don't wanna do it in a cheap hotel room the first time. We'll fly home tonight and then I'll lay you down on the bed and make sure to make up for all the lost time," he said.  
"You promise?" She asked.

He took her hands and walked backwards. As he reached the edge of the bed, he sat down and pulled her down on his lap.

"I'll treat you like a queen," he said and kissed her neck. "My queen."


End file.
